WHAT'S MEANT TO BE
by CJM43
Summary: Set after episode 20 of Season Seven, this story is what I would like to see as the Series Finale of Charmed.
1. Default Chapter

**WHAT'S MEANT TO BE**

_I was inspired to write this story after having a discussion as to what will happen in the series finale of Charmed. So this is what I would like to see happen in the series finale._

_WARNING: This story does contain spoilers. I have started it after Episode 20 of the Seventh Season and have included some information I know from reading parts of the scriptof that episode,and have filled in the blanks with my own imagination._

_So if you are spoiler free it may be better to wait until after Episode 20 goes to air, otherwise thank you for taking time out of your life to read my story, I very much appreciate it._

CHAPTER ONE

"Are you sure I will go back to the exact same time I left?" Wyatt asked again, hoping another reassurance from his parents would convince him this time.

"Wyatt, as we've said three times now, we summoned you here, so by reversing the summoning spell you will go back to the exact time and place you were when you were brought here." Piper explained again, trying not to sound annoyed.

"It would be different if you had used a spell to get here, this way no one in the future will even know that you've been gone." Leo added.

Wyatt thought about what they said. "Okay, I get it." He finally said. "I just want to be prepared, that's all."

"Hopefully, there will be nothing you have to be prepared for," Phoebe added.

"Hopefully?" Wyatt questioned.

"Phoebe! You're not helping." Paige chastised her before walking over to Wyatt to say goodbye. "It's been great seeing you, say hi to Chris for us," she said as she leaned up to give her much taller nephew from the future a hug.

"I will, although he doesn't know anything about the Chris from the other future coming back to save me." Wyatt said to her.

"He's still the same person, though," Phoebe said as she also moved forward to say her goodbyes. "It doesn't seem that long ago we were saying our goodbyes to him as well. Take care of yourself, promise?" She said as she also leant up to hug him.

"I promise," Wyatt said to her, then he turned to look at his parents. He could see his Mother had tears in her eyes.

"Goodbye, son," Leo said to him leaning forward to shake his hand, and then unexpectedly pulled him closer to give him a hug. "It's really been wonderful seeing a glimpse of your future."

"Sorry, I caused you so much trouble," Wyatt said to Leo, but before he could answer Piper cut in.

"Our boys could never cause us too much trouble," she said as she leaned up to give him a long hug.

She could not help but think back to the last time she was saying goodbye to one of her sons from the future. Chris had lived with them for nearly two years and they had become very close. It was a strange experience for her to have the baby version of Chris inside her almost ready to be born, and at the same time she was saying goodbye to the grown up version of her second son.

She took it for granted that everything would be fine that day, and that he would make it back to the future okay. He'd managed to get out of so many dire situations during his time with them, that she was confident he would continue to do so. She wasn't sure if it was her emotional state of being pregnant, or what it was, but she had not wanted to prolong her goodbyes to Chris, so just gave him a quick hug and sent him on his way. She had never said anything to anyone, but had always regretted that she didn't say more to him, to thank him for everything he had done. How was she to know that was the last time she would ever see that version of her future son alive? As she held on to Wyatt, refusing to let him go, she was determined not to make the same mistake this time.

"Goodbye, Mum," Wyatt said gently to her.

Wyatt tried to pull away, but Piper tightened her grip, not letting him move away from her. Wyatt smiled at what she was doing, and willingly let her hold on to him for a little longer. "I'll be fine, Mum, don't worry," he whispered to her.

Finally she eased her grip on him and moved back to look up at him, "I know you will, I just want you to know how much your Dad and I love you and Chris."

"I know, believe me we both know. My future is not like the one the other Chris came from. Everything's great." He paused for a few seconds thinking and then continued, "I still do vaguely remember that day when Gideon attacked him, you know. I didn't know who he was, of course, but I knew he was protecting me. Even though we're really close in the future, I'll look at him in a whole new light now. I'm amazed you never told either of us about what happened."

"We must have had our reasons." Leo said to him.

Wyatt nodded and moved to the middle of the room in the circle of candles that Paige had just lit.

The three sisters moved together and looked at Wyatt one more time.

"Are you ready?" Piper asked him.

"As I'll ever be." Wyatt replied.

As they read the spell, Wyatt was engulfed in circles of white light, and then he disappeared. He reappeared sitting on a couch in the attic of the Manor, which is exactly where he had been when he was summoned to the past by his family. He looked around and everything seemed fine. He looked at his watch and was relieved to see that it showed the exact time it had been when he disappeared. Satisfied that everything seemed to have gone as planned, Wyatt started to stand up from the couch he was sitting on, when suddenly a rush of memories hit him, like he had been knocked in the head with a baseball bat. The force was so strong that he was pushed back down on the couch, and he had to put his hands out to steady himself from the dizziness he was experiencing.

After a few seconds, it was over, but Wyatt was left shivering and breathless. He tried to take slow deep breathes to calm himself, and then realised he had a whole new set of memories, as well as his original ones, his new ones being the far more dominant.

"No, this is not right!" He said out loud to himself, in a panic. He got up to head downstairs, but he was overcome by dizziness. He had taken a few steps before he realised the room was spinning uncontrollably, and before he could do anything Wyatt fell heavily to the floor. He tried briefly to open his eyes, but it was too hard to fight the darkness that was trying to overcome him. His last thought before giving in, was _what went wrong_?


	2. Chapter Two

Same SPOILER WARNING as last Chapter

CHAPTER TWO

Chris was lying in his room reading when he heard a thud from the attic above him. His Father was downstairs getting dinner ready, and had obviously not heard anything because he could still hear music coming from the kitchen. He knew Wyatt liked to read quietly in the attic on a Sunday evening, and presumed that he had probably just dropped something, but he thought he'd better investigate, just in case.

Chris cautiously opened the door to the attic and called, "Wyatt? Was that you making that noise?" As it was getting quite late in the evening, the attic was very dark, and it took a few seconds for Chris to allow his eyes to adjust before he saw Wyatt's unconscious body lying on the floor over near the couch. "Wyatt!" Chris called, alarmed as he ran over to him. The first thing he did was check Wyatt's neck for a pulse, and was very relieved to find one. "Thank God!" He said to himself. "Wyatt. Wyatt, can you hear me?" Chris asked his older brother, while gently slapping his cheeks with his hands.

Wyatt started to groan, and move, but his eyes remained closed.

"I'll get Dad, okay, just…..wait here." Chris said to him, and then realised how stupid that sounded before he orbed down to the kitchen.

Chris materialized in the kitchen a few seconds later.

"Chris, you know you're not allowed to orb, unless it's an emergency!" Leo started to chastise his son, but Chris' frantic voice interrupted him.

"Dad, Wyatt's unconscious in the attic – I just found him." He blurted out.

"What? What happened to him, is he okay?" Leo asked, but before Chris could answer, he just ran to his Father and put his hand on his shoulder and orbed them both immediately to the attic.

"Wyatt!" Leo shouted as he ran to older son's side, after he and Chris arrived in the attic in a cloud of orbs. Wyatt had slipped back into unconsciousness, but once again started to slowly move and groan as he attempted to wake up with the noise of his Father's voice calling him.

Leo quickly checked him over, "he doesn't appear to have any injuries," he said to Chris. "Wyatt, Wyatt can you hear me?"

Wyatt slowly opened his eyes and after taking a little while to focus he found himself looking up at his Father and Brother. "Dad, Chris, how long have I been here?" He asked them as he tried to sit up.

"We don't know," Leo answered, as he helped his son sit up. "Chris found you about ten minutes ago. What happened?"

Wyatt sighed. Heavily. "That, Dad, is a long story!" He finally answered.

"Well, we're listening." Leo told him.

"Do you mind if Chris orbs us all downstairs? I'd be a lot more comfortable in the Sitting Room, and maybe having some of that dinner I can smell cooking."

"Chris has already orbed twice, I don't know if we should push our luck. Zankou might still be monitoring your magic." Leo cautioned.

"We're only orbing Dad, and Wyatt doesn't look strong enough to walk yet." Chris reasoned.

"I'm still feeling really woozy, I don't even think I could orb myself." Wyatt stated.

"Okay, fine." Leo agreed, and within seconds they were all in the Sitting Room. "Dinner's not quite ready yet, so how about you tell us what's going on." He asked Wyatt.

"I've got so much going on in my head at the moment, you'll have to forgive me if this doesn't come out right, but I'm just going to start telling you what's happened, okay?" Wyatt said looking at both Chris and Leo.

"Fine," Leo answered him.

"Go for it," Chris said.

Wyatt sighed trying to work out where to begin. "Dad, do you remember when you summoned me from the future when I was a child? Something to do with me talking to an imaginery friend that turned out to be a demon."

"Yes, of course I remember that. But how do you know about it, we never told you?" Leo asked him.

"Because, I've just now returned from that little visit to the past." Wyatt told them.

"You went to the past?" Chris asked him. "And you saw Mum?"

"Yes, I saw Mum," Wyatt said more quietly.

"I suppose you are about the age when we summoned you." Leo conceded. "To be honest, I haven't thought about that in years – we've had so many other things to worry about."

"Why didn't you summon me too?" Chris asked Leo. "I would have loved to have met Mum, and Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige."

"Because time travel is dangerous Chris, and we were concerned about Wyatt and needed him there to sort something out. We didn't want to risk both of you. As it turned out things didn't go quite as planned." Leo said remembering what had happened.

"No, they didn't." Wyatt agreed. "But it all worked out in the end though."

"Thank God!" Leo agreed.

"Why, what happened?" Chris asked, very curious.

"I was turned evil by this demon." Wyatt started to explain.

"You, evil?" Chris exclaimed, very surprised. "Ha, that's a laugh, I can't imagine you being evil, Wyatt, you're the most passive person I know."

"Everyone has a dark side Chris." Wyatt said sheepishly. "Anyway, Mum and Dad saved me and that was that."

"So you being unconscious in the attic, was that because you'd returned from the past?" Leo asked him.

"No, Dad, I wish it was just that." Wyatt said to him. "When I arrived back, everything was fine for a moment and then all of a sudden I was hit by a new set of memories."

"New set of memories? What do you mean?" Leo asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"What I mean is, something has happened to change the future. This is not the future I came from. Everything is very different, and believe me I know because I now have two sets of memories floating around in my head, and it hurts like hell!" Wyatt told them.

"Wow, Wyatt, this is amazing!" Chris exclaimed.

"It's not just amazing Chris, it's tragic." Wyatt said to him and then dropped a bombshell, "In my original future, Mum, Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige were all still alive. My visit to the past has caused them all to die long before they were supposed to."


	3. Chapter Three

Same SPOILER WARNING as last Chapter

CHAPTER THREE

Leo and Chris sat silently for a few minutes while they both absorbed what Wyatt had just said.

"So you're telling us Mum wasn't supposed to die when I was a baby?" Chris said trying to clarify what Wyatt had just told him.

Wyatt could see that both Chris and his Dad were not really getting what he was trying to say, so thought it best to explain everything from the beginning. "Okay, this is what happened. I was sitting on the couch in the attic reading like I always do on Sunday evening when all of a sudden I find myself in 2005, having been summoned by Mum and Dad. Before I was summoned my life was great, Mum and Dad were both here and alive. I had a girlfriend, and so did you Chris. I was studying to be a doctor, and Chris you were in University. Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige were both married with kids too. Demon attacks had lessened over the years after Zankou had been vanquished. Really, we had the occasional problem, but mostly life was pretty normal."

"Mum was still alive, I had a girlfriend, and I was in University. And we could use magic without fearing for our lives." Chris repeated, amazed. "What about Zankou?" He asked.

"Zankou was gone, dead, vanquished when I was a child. He wasn't around to have complete control over the magical community like he does now. Anyway, as I've already told you, I was sent back to my own time, and a whole new set of memories hit me, and that is what made me pass out. I guess it was too much for me to take in all at once." Wyatt explained.

"You see, that is exactly why time travel is too dangerous!" Leo exclaimed. "Why we didn't want to risk bringing you back to the past again Chris!"

"What do you mean, again?" Chris asked. "I've never time travelled before."

Leo suddenly realised what he had said, and looked to Wyatt.

"Have I time travelled before?" Chris asked his Dad, who was still looking at Wyatt not knowing what to say. Chris looked at Wyatt, "Wyatt, what do you know that you're not telling me?"

"You should tell him Dad, he deserves to know." Wyatt said to his Father.

"Tell me what?" Chris asked looking back at Leo again. "After a lengthy silence, Chris became impatient, "Will someone please tell what's going on?"

With Leo's continued silence, Wyatt turned to Chris. "I only found out while I was back in the past because Mum and Dad decided not to tell us both for some reason."

"Tell us what, Wyatt?" Chris asked again, his voice getting louder with his impatience.

"We didn't tell you both because there was no reason to." Leo finally said. "Everything had been fixed, so there was nothing to be gained by telling you what had happened." Leo looked at Chris as he spoke.

Chris went to ask him again what he was talking about, but decided this time to give his Dad some time to continue.

"Back about 18 months before you were born Chris, we had a visit from someone from the future. This person kept his identity a secret from us for a long time. First of all he told us he had come back to save Wyatt from a great evil that had threatened him in the future. As time went on he revealed to us that he had actually come back to save Wyatt from turning evil." Leo said looking more at Chris than Wyatt.

"And who was this person?" Chris asked cautiously, almost afraid of the answer.

"He pretended to be a Whitelighter and was therefore appointed the sisters Whitelighter when I was made an Elder. Thinking back now, he was incredibly brave to do what he did. It's a very long story, Chris, but we eventually found out this person was you, and you'd come from the future to save your brother."

"Me?" Chris repeated, surprised.

"Well, it wasn't actually you, obviously," Wyatt clarified, "but it was another version of you, from a different future."

"A future where you were evil."

"Yes."

"So you had already turned evil before." Chris checked with him.

"So it seems. Weird, huh!"

"Totally!" Chris replied.

"You okay?" Leo asked Chris.

"Well, this is not something I ever expected to hear you telling me, if that's what you mean." Chris told him. "But, I'm cool. So what happened to him, or me?"

"It was the day of your birth." Leo started to say, but then sighed wondering how to explain what happened. "It's all very complicated. I was taking you back to the future, but we were sent to an alternate reality instead. To cut a very long story short, we made it back from the other world and I was out trying to find the person responsible for turning Wyatt evil, and Chris, or the other you, was left to protect Wyatt. Gideon, who was an Elder and my mentor, attacked the other Chris and kidnapped Wyatt."

"An Elder was responsible?" Chris asked.

"Believe me, we were all just as surprised as you are. No one suspected him, that's why it took us so long to work out that it was Gideon. Anyway, your Mum was in the hospital having complications with your birth…" Leo's voice trailed off as he was remembering that day.

Wyatt continued, "Well obviously Mum and you survived. Dad rescued me and then took care of Gideon, and I was saved from turning evil."

"And Me?" Chris asked again.

"The other version of you, died in my arms from his wounds." Leo said sadly.

"I died? Why didn't you just heal me?" Chris asked.

"Gideon had cursed the athame he used, there was nothing I could do to save him."

"Wow, Dad, that must have been really tough on you." Chris said sympathetically.

"It was devastating Chris, but saving Wyatt was all the other Chris cared about." Leo emphasized to Chris. "He came back to save Wyatt and his future, and he achieved that. He was happy in the knowledge that Baby Chris, you, would grow up in a better world where your brother wouldn't be the ruler of all evil."

"And he looked like me?" Chris asked.

"Yes, he looked exactly like you." Leo answered.

"It must have been really hard on you watching me grow up this time, knowing what happened to me last time." Chris said to his Dad.

"Your Mother didn't even let you leave the house for the first few months of your life." Leo told him. "Now you can see why I've been a little overprotective, of both of you!"

"A Little!" Both Wyatt and Chris exclaimed together.

Leo laughed. "Okay, a lot." He conceded.

"Now that you've told us how dangerous time travel is, Dad, you've got to forget all that and let me go back and fix whatever happened this time." Wyatt said to him.

"No way, Wyatt!" Leo answered him, firmly.

"I'm coming with you this time." Chris told him.

"Didn't you hear me, I said, no way!" Leo reaffirmed, only louder this time.

"Dad, listen to me," Wyatt pleaded with him, as calmly as he could. "Something I did back in the past changed this future. It's not just us suffering, it's the whole world. I don't know about you, but I cannot live with the fact that something I did for the short time I was in 2005 caused Mum's death, and of course Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige as well. You have to let me go back and put it right again. Please."

"But you could make things even worse, Wyatt." Leo said to him.

"Dad, you have to let me try." Wyatt begged him.

"I'll make sure he's okay Dad." Chris added.

Leo looked at both of his sons. He was so conflicted as to what to do. He knew it was the right thing to let them go and try to fix the future because even thinking about having his beloved Piper back with him again was reason enough to say yes, but he didn't want to risk losing them either.

"Dad, my new memories tell me that you've done an amazing job raising us by yourself, especially being mortal. But my old memories remind me that was not how the future was meant to be. You're supposed to be enjoying your retirement with Mum." Wyatt told him gently.

"Dad, I don't even remember Mum. Please, let me go back and see her. You know how well Wyatt and I work together, we'll look out for each other, and if we both go back in time together, as a united front, you'll take us more seriously in the past." Chris added.

Leo nodded slowly as he closed his eyes. He opened them again and looked at both Wyatt and Chris, "okay," he whispered.

"You won't regret it Dad, I promise," Wyatt assured him. "Now we've just got to figure out how to get there."


	4. Chapter Four

Same SPOILER WARNING as last Chapter

CHAPTER FOUR

"I can't believe you still remember all the ingredients to this potion." Chris said to his Dad as he stirred the pot of gooey mixture in front of him.

"Yes, well, even though it's been more than twenty years, Chris, when I realised Gideon tricked us into using his spell, and the potion we had would have worked, for some reason I've always remembered it. Maybe it was the trauma of that day? I don't know, but at least I can be of some help to you now, especially seeing as we don't have The Book of Shadows anymore." Leo said to him.

"Zankou killing The Power of Three and not the other way around, as it was supposed to happen, certainly screwed up the future big time!" Wyatt said shaking his head. "Zankou having The Book of Shadows, and not allowing witches to use magic, is just so wrong. I wonder what I could have done to make such a huge difference like this to the future?"

"That's what you're going back for, to fix this mess, and make a better future for everyone." Leo said hopefully looking at Wyatt and then to Chris.

"Great! Just as long as there is no pressure!" Chris said rolling his eyes.

Leo smiled. He could see that despite Chris being keen to accompany his brother on this quest, he was using humour to cover up how nervous he was actually feeling. He walked over to the pot of cooling mixture and started pouring it into some vials. "Okay, you know how this works. Just think of the date and time I've told you, then throw the mixture at the triquetra and a portal will be created to take you to that time. If you end up in the wrong place for any reason, just use another potion vial and it will bring you back home."

"Got it," Chris said.

Wyatt nodded.

Leo handed his boys several bottles each. "Now, you've got plenty of spare bottles. Make sure you look after them, but if you lose them you've got the recipe to make some more."

"Are you sure you won't come with us, Dad?" Wyatt asked Leo.

"I'm getting too old for this sort of thing now Wyatt, anyway it would be too confusing to have both older me and younger me in the past. You two will be fine without me." Leo explained.

"What about Zankou? What if he attacks you after we're gone?" Chris asked him, suddenly alarmed.

"Time travel is very tricky, Chris, but if you are successful, then this future that I'm in should change as soon as you're gone. My memories will change instantly as well, because I should remember you visiting us. Of course, yours won't change until you return here." Leo explained.

"At least I'll be prepared next time. That is one hell of a trip having a new set of memories blast into your head!" Wyatt told them.

"You just both make sure you make it back here safely." Leo said to his boys as he prepared himself to say goodbye.

"We'll be fine Dad," Chris said, trying to sound convincing.

Leo leant forward and hugged Chris tightly, "I know you will," he agreed, as best he could.

Chris took a deep breath, determined not to give into the emotion he was feeling saying goodbye to his Father. He was relieved that Leo didn't prolong his goodbyes and moved quickly onto his brother.

"Look after yourself," he said to Wyatt and then pulling away he looked at both of them again, "and each other," he added.

Wyatt nodded and then turned to face the triquetra. Chris stood next to him. Silently Wyatt threw the vial of potion toward the magical symbol, which had been drawn on the attic wall. The fragile glass of the vial smashed against the wall, and immediately the triquetra started to emit a bright blue light.

Wyatt looked at Chris and then started to walk toward the magical portal. Chris looked at his brother and followed him, but turned to take one last look at his Father before entering. He saw him standing there with his arms at his side looking the most scared Chris had ever seen him in his life. Chris put his hand up and gave him a quick wave and a smile. Leo managed to smile back, but Chris could tell it was forced. He turned back, more determined than ever to change the past, and followed his brother into the time portal.


	5. Chapter Five

**SAME SPOILER WARNING AS LAST TIME**

CHAPTER FIVE

Piper hummed happily to herself as she took some cookies out of the oven. She carefully placed them on the middle island bench next to a tray of cooling muffins on one side and some freshly iced chocolate cupcakes on the other. Cooking always relaxed her, and finally today she felt relaxed. The events of the previous week had been stressful to say the least, and she desperately needed this time to herself. Leo had taken Wyatt to Magic School with him, Phoebe was at the paper and Paige was working with a charge, so it was just her and Chris alone in the house.

While Chris was upstairs asleep, she had decided to prescribe herself some stress therapy, by cooking up a fattening storm. And it seemed to be working. Not even the sounds of Chris waking up an hour early from his nap could change Piper's mood and she laughed when she heard him chattering away to himself in baby talk. She picked up the monitor and started to head upstairs to his room.

About halfway up the stairs, Piper became alarmed when she could hear someone else in the room with Chris, and her casual walk suddenly turned into a frantic run. She arrived at Chris' room with her hands in the air ready to blast whoever the intruder was, but was incredibly relieved when she saw Leo lifting Chris out of his cot.

"God, Leo!" She cursed him. "Don't scare me like that. Tell me next time you decide to change your plans."

Leo looked up at her as he held onto Chris. "I'm sorry if I scared you," he said.

"No, don't be silly, it's fine, I just wasn't expecting you that's all." Piper said to him. "Can you change him and bring him downstairs so I can give him some lunch?" She asked as she turned and walked out the room.

"That wouldn't be a problem," Leo called out.

"If I knew what to do." A different voice said, finishing off the sentence.

Piper froze mid stride, and terror filled her whole body. She recognized the voice immediately, and turned to run back to Chris' room. All her fears were realised when, instead of Leo holding Chris, she was now confronted with Zankou standing, smiling at her, holding Chris with one arm, and an energy ball with another.

Piper considered her options, and knew immediately that it was too dangerous to try to attack, as Chris would most certainly be caught up in it. She decided to plead for his life instead.

"Please, don't hurt him, I'm begging you, he's just a baby."

"Interesting request," Zankou said calmly to her, as he jiggled the baby he was holding. "He's a heavy little thing isn't he?"

"What do you want?" She asked.

"What I want is for you to listen to me. It would be so easy for me to kill this little creature right now. Let's see I could snap his neck, or hit him with this energy ball, or drop him on his head…"

Before Zankou could finish his threats, Piper started walking toward him, "If you hurt him, I swear I'll kill you!"

Zankou lifted his hand with the energy ball and started moving it toward Chris. Piper stopped, "I'm listening!" She shouted at him.

Zankou turned and laughed at her, and then put his hand down, but did not extinguish the energy ball. "I thought you might," he said. "Actually, I think you'll like what I have to say," he told her.

"I can't imagine why." Piper replied.

"Because I'm about to make you an offer you've only ever dreamt about. You see, I know what you want more than anything is to lead a normal life. I know that being a witch is not something you ever asked for or wanted."

"It's who I am," Piper said firmly.

"It's what you are, it's not who you are," Zankou corrected.

"Get to the point," Piper said sharply.

"What if I was to offer you a truce? I promise not to fight you and you promise not to fight me."

"You're a demon, why would I trust you?" Piper scoffed.

"Because you can't afford not to trust me. What is the alternative? That you fight us forever? You must have been looking for a way out to have been so desperate to agree to the Avatars' proposal. By the way, don't you think it was a bit extreme to change the entire world, just because you were sick of facing up to your responsibilities?"

"As it turned out, you're right, but that is even more reason why I wouldn't trust you. We are not about to make the same mistake again."

"Ahh, but what I'm offering you is completely different. I'm not asking you to change the world, just enter into an agreement. All I want is you to leave me alone to take over the Underworld, and I'll leave you alone up here. It will be much easier for me to take control if I'm not fighting you every second day. And once I'm their leader, I will make sure that all demons leave you alone." Zankou could see Piper was considering what he was saying, although she was pretending not to.

"You're crazy. We don't make deals with Demons, for any reason." Piper said firmly.

"We'll see." Zankou said smugly. "As a token of my good will, I am going to return your son to you unharmed."

Piper held her breathe in anticipation as Zankou walked toward her. She was waiting for something to happen, for she was sure he was trying to distract her for some reason. But nothing happened, instead, he just handed her Chris. Piper immediately hugged him tightly.

"You see I can be trusted." Zankou told her, trying to sound genuine, and then warned her, "Please don't mention our little meeting to anyone else, as I would consider that a betrayal of my trust. Consider my request, and I will be in touch." He smiled at her again, and then flamed out.

Piper let go of the breath she had been holding, and realising she was feeling a little dizzy; she walked over to a chair in the room and shakily sat down. Tears were falling freely from her eyes and down her cheeks. She wiped them away and tried to compose herself, stroking Chris' hair and kissing him on the top of his head. As she looked down at her precious baby, she could not help but think of an image of future Chris, and realised how close she had just come to him never existing. How close she had just come to losing her baby.

She wondered how much longer she could go on like this. And even though she knew it went against everything she believed in, everything she knew was right, she found herself considering Zankou's proposal.


	6. Chapter Six

**SAME SPOILER WARNING AS LAST TIME**

CHAPTER SIX

Phoebe and Paige were standing in the attic near The Book of Shadows talking when Leo entered the room.

"How's Piper?" Phoebe asked him.

"She's just putting the boys to bed, she wanted to do it by herself tonight for some reason." Leo told them, and then paused, obviously thinking about something. "You know, she seemed better this morning," he continued. "When I left with Wyatt to go to Magic School, she was happily cooking in the kitchen. But tonight she seems very quiet and withdrawn again."

"Yes, I noticed that too," Phoebe agreed.

"Well, it's been a very big week for all of us. Those Zombies freaked us all out." Paige commented.

"I think for Piper it was more of a reality check." Phoebe added.

Paige and Leo looked at Phoebe wondering what she was getting at.

"You, know how she's so desperate for a normal life. Well, having innocents that we couldn't save come back as Zombies and attack us, I think, just made her want that even more. Made her wonder why we're doing this."

"Maybe." Leo wondered. "Also, I think having Future Wyatt here and turning evil didn't help things. Not only was it stressful to see what he was going through and then try to fix it, but I think saying goodbye to him brought back memories of Chris."

Paige and Phoebe both nodded as they considered what Leo had just said.

"I don't think she's ever really dealt with Chris' death." Leo told them.

"I agree," Paige said. "The only time we've talked about it, she told me that Chris and Wyatt were okay and that was all that mattered. She's definitely not dealt with it at all."

"Have any of us?" Phoebe asked. "I mean, on the one hand we had Big Chris living with us for nearly two years and we all grew to love him for who he was. When he died saving Wyatt, I think we all just moved on pretending that Baby Chris is really him so he didn't really die. We all know that's not the case."

"They are the same person, though." Leo said.

"Yes, but they won't have the same personality. The Chris that we all got to know really well, the one who gave up everything to save his brother, is gone, and we'll never see him again. I think it's about time we all faced that, and realised that it is all right to talk about him. I don't know about you, but I haven't heard anyone talk about him at all since he died. It's like he never existed." Phoebe insisted.

"Well, I think we've been a little busy, what with the whole Avatar thing." Paige said, justifying.

"Plus, we all knew Chris came back to save the future, and that's exactly what he did. He hated the world he grew up in, and now that won't happen, so in a way he did get what he wanted." Leo explained.

"I don't think he wanted to die a slow and painful death, though." Phoebe said thoughtlessly.

"You don't have to remind me how he died, Phoebe," Leo said sounding a little bit angry at her thoughtless comment. "I was there, remember."

"Sorry, Leo, I didn't mean it to sound that way, I just meant.."

Before Phoebe could finish her sentence, Leo interrupted, "I know what you meant, and I actually think you're wrong. I do think he was willing to die to save the future, we all know how many chances he took while he was here. It was a miracle he wasn't killed before." Leo paused for a second, thinking, "But I do agree with you that we never talk about him, and maybe it would be better for everyone, including Piper, if we did start to talk about him more."

Leo had just finished saying that when Piper walked up the stairs and into the attic.

"You'll be pleased to know the children are asleep." She said as she walked toward them. "Talk about who more?" She asked.

"Chris." Phoebe answered before anyone else could.

"What about Chris?" Piper asked, suddenly alarmed.

"No, not Baby Chris. Big Chris." Phoebe told her.

"Why would we talk about Big Chris?" Piper asked, perplexed.

"Phoebe just thinks that it's not healthy that we don't really talk about him." Leo tried to explain.

"I don't understand, why would we need to talk about him? He's gone, and now we've got Baby Chris, that's who we need to concentrate on." Piper said.

"I think what Phoebe is trying to say," Paige tried to explain in her own words, "is that none of us talk about Big Chris because we've never really accepted his death."

Piper looked away when Paige said that to her. She wondered why they were talking about this tonight, of all nights. "But he didn't really die, he was reborn into Baby Chris." Piper said, still not getting it.

"That's just it, sweetie." Phoebe said gently to her. "The Chris we knew, the one who lived with us for nearly two years did die. We will never see that Chris again, and I really think we all need to face that so we can move on."

Leo could see that Piper was starting to get upset. "Phoebe, I think we should drop this now, okay?"

Phoebe also noticed that the conversation did not seem to be helping Piper's fragile emotional state. "No problem." She agreed.

The four of them stood in awkward silence for a while, before Paige finally said, "Well, we've come here to talk about what we're going to do about Zankou, so let's get started. After pulling off that Zombie thing, I think we need to find a way to get rid of him once and for all."

She had no sooner finished that sentence when, all of a sudden, a triquetra shaped portal appeared on the attic wall. They all turned to look at it, and automatically took up defensive positions.

"Oh, no, what now?" Piper cursed as she prepared herself for whatever was going to walk out of the magical portal.

After about 30 excruciating seconds of waiting, finally two figures emerged.

They all immediately recognized them as Big Wyatt and Big Chris.

No one could believe that they had all just been talking about Chris, and now there he was standing in front of them. All four of them stood there, staring, absolutely gob smacked!

"Is this a bad time?" Wyatt asked.

"Don't worry, Wyatt's not evil." Chris said, not really knowing what else to say.

Wyatt turned and looked at Chris incredulously.

Chris shrugged and then added, "Nobody's evil, really, and it's great to see you all, especially you Mum."

"Why are you here?" Leo asked them, not convinced they were who they appeared to be.

Chris was too busy staring at his Mother to answer. It was the first time he had ever seen her like this. After Zankou had taken over, using magic was forbidden, with the penalty of death, so there was no way their Father would allow them to risk summoning her from the afterlife. Chris couldn't believe she looked even more beautiful in real life than she did in her photos.

"It's going to take a bit of explaining," Wyatt answered, "But first of all you need to know that I am the same Wyatt who said goodbye to you about a week ago. That's if we've arrived in the right time?" He checked.

"Yes, that's right." Piper answered cautiously. She was trying to be careful not to give too much away in case everything was not as it seemed. Also, she couldn't help but notice Chris was staring at her.

"Well, when I got back to the future it was changed." Wyatt explained.

"Changed how, exactly?" Phoebe asked.

"Not in a good way, I'm afraid." Wyatt said and then paused trying to think of how to phrase what he wanted to tell them. "When I got back to the future, I was hit with a new set of memories and Mum, Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige, none of you were there anymore."

"What are you trying to say, Wyatt?" Leo asked impatiently.

"He's trying to say, that the Power of Three was vanquished when I was a baby." Chris said deciding to get to the point. "Because you were gone, Zankou took over all magic and the use of good magic was forbidden. That's the world I grew up in." Then he turned to look at his Mother. "I've never even met you Mum, to be honest I don't even remember you, or Aunt Phoebe or Aunt Paige. And Wyatt and I have come back to fix that."

Piper, Phoebe, Paige and Leo all turned to Wyatt for confirmation of what Chris had just said.

"I'm sorry you had to hear it this way, but Chris is right. Something I did when I was here with you changed the future and I, or we, need to find out what that was so we can change it back to how it's meant to be." Wyatt confirmed to them.

"How long do they have?" Leo asked, looking completely shocked.

"A little under two weeks." Chris answered.


	7. Chapter Seven

CHAPTER SEVEN

Zankou sat in the corner of his small piece of the Underworld with his eyes closed, quietly concentrating. Kahn, a fierce and strong looking demon who had recently been promoted to being Zankou's second in charge, quietly entered the room. He waited, not knowing whether to interrupt Zankou, or not. He was most relieved when Zankou started to speak.

"How's the demon recruitment coming along?" He asked Kahn.

"Convincing demons to attack the Charmed Ones is as difficult as we thought it would be. All consider it suicide, which of course it is, and they are taking a bit of persuading." Kahn informed him.

"Well don't have too much fun persuading," Zankou told him, "We want a few demons left for the attacks."

"How did your meeting go with the witch?" Kahn asked.

"As planned." Zankou replied. "I was fortunate that they decided to summon their son from the future. Tapping into his thoughts when he was evil has been of great assistance to me. I must remember to thank them before I kill them."

"So, what happens next?" Kahn asked him.

"The witch is considering my proposal, as I knew she would. Knowing from her son about her desire for a normal life has allowed me to feed her exactly what she wants. If we stage continual demon attacks, then they will convince her even more that a truce with me is her only option." He said confidently. "I will give it a few days and then contact her again to start our negotiations. It's all too easy, really."

"It's your brilliance that allows it to be easy," Kahn said, deliberately sucking up to him.

Zankou smiled at the comment. He knew what Kahn was doing, and he appreciated the sentiment. "Have the first group of demons ready to attack within the hour." Zankou demanded. "For now, leave me alone while I try to sense the witches' next move."

* * *

Big Chris and Big Wyatt still stood in the same positions they were in after arriving from the future. They had barely made it out of the portal before being confronted by their parents and aunts, and had spent the whole twenty minutes since arriving explaining while their journey had been necessary.

"So, I'm just confirming here," Phoebe said, wanting to clarify, "In your future, Chris, we all died in less than two weeks? Or is it die? Honestly, getting your tenses right when talking about time travel drives me crazy!"

"It doesn't matter what tense you use, Aunt Phoebe," Chris answered her and then sadly added, "The answer is still yes."

"Aunt Phoebe? Did you hear that he called me Aunt Phoebe." Phoebe said to everyone, as she smiled happily.

"What's wrong with that?" Chris asked, not getting it.

"No, there's nothing wrong with it. Nothing it all." Phoebe quickly clarified. "It's just that the other Chris never used Aunt, it just sounded strange that's all."

"This Chris might not know about the other Chris, Phoebe." Leo chastised.

"He knows, Dad, I told him before we came here." Wyatt told them as Chris nodded in agreement.

"Everything's fine, I know all about him. And you know what – you're right – I am twenty two years old, I think I'll drop the Aunt and just call you Phoebe." Chris decided.

"Chris, I didn't mean to…"

Before Phoebe could finish her sentence, Paige cut her off. "Well, getting back to what we were talking about, you need to tell us how and where we died and who killed us?"

"It's not as easy as that." Chris told them.

"Dad found you in the Manor, but he never thought you had actually died there." Wyatt explained.

"What does that mean?" Leo asked them. "What made me think that?"

"You were only guessing, Dad, because it wasn't like we could have a forensic team investigate or anything." Chris told Leo.

"But there must have been some reason why I would have thought that." Leo said.

"You just didn't think there was enough evidence around the room to show that a fight had taken place. It's something that's played on your mind all these years, and you made sure we remembered to tell you." Wyatt said. "But before you could do anything about your suspicions, the Cleaners took over and erased all evidence of the deaths, and the girls."

"Of us?" Piper asked, taken back.

"Only in the mortal world. The Elders insisted that the magical community be allowed to remember you, that's why we do." Chris tried to explain as best he could.

"That was big of them." Piper said sarcastically.

"It was the easiest solution," Wyatt defended. "Dad was grieving after losing you all, and had to cope with being mortal and raising us by himself. It made it easier that he didn't also have to deal with a murder investigation, and all the questions that would have been involved in your deaths."

"And you remember all of this new future, Wyatt, as well as the other one where the girls didn't die?" Leo asked.

"Yes, the new future is very vivid in my mind, and the old one is fading fast. I really have to concentrate to remember a lot of that other future now." Wyatt answered him.

"And you have no idea what you could have done to cause this?" Phoebe asked him.

"None, although I don't have a lot of memory of when I was evil. But, no, I do not have any idea what I could have done to change the future so drastically." Wyatt said, shaking his head.

"That's why we're here." Chris said optimistically, "To make sure it doesn't happen this time."

"Well, if Leo thinks we were killed somewhere else, but it was made to look like we were killed in the Manor, then that's what happened!" Piper said sounding absolutely sure. "I trust his judgement." She added.

"So do I." Phoebe agreed.

Paige nodded and then added, "So, why would the killer do that? Why would it matter where we're killed?"

Nobody had an answer to that.

"This is really weird," Phoebe said breaking the silence. "We're going to be investigating our own murder, before it happens."

"We're going to stop it from happening." Leo said firmly.

"Demons!" Chris yelled suddenly as four demons appeared at the door to the attic, behind Leo and Piper.

Piper immediately used her hands to blow up the closest demon, but she was too late to stop the other three from throwing energy balls. Phoebe and Paige ducked out of the way, as Wyatt used his telekinesis to send them back into two of the demons vanquishing them instantly.

Suddenly five more demons appeared behind Wyatt and Chris.

"Watch out!" Paige called to them, as one grabbed Chris from behind.

He immediately leant forward flipping the demon over his shoulder, and then using his telekinetic power flung him against the wall vanquishing him. In the meantime Phoebe had been fighting the last demon that had appeared near the door, and had managed to finish it off by sticking a sharp instrument into its torso.

Piper started to use her blowing up power on the remaining four demons, and had vanquished two, but the third one didn't explode like the others and started to head toward her. Leo picked up a nearby lamp and hit the demon very hard over the head with it, knocking it to the ground. He then finished it off by stabbing it.

Wyatt had also been taken by surprise from behind by the last demon, and was fighting him when three more demons appeared near Paige and Phoebe.

Leo moved to help Phoebe and Paige, as they were outnumbered, when Piper suddenly said frantically, "The boys!" And then ran toward the door leading to the stairs out of the attic.

She did not see the demon that was fighting Phoebe, knock her to the ground and then turn to face Piper with an energy ball forming in its hand.

"Piper, watch out!" Leo called, but he was helpless to do anything because he was too busy trying to save his own mortal life against the demon he was fighting.

Piper unfortunately did not hear him, having only her boys on her mind, and continued running toward the stairs.

Chris, however, had seen what was going to happen and was already on his way toward Piper, at the same time using his telekinetic power to fling the demon back against the wall, vanquishing it instantly. Unfortunately, the demon had already sent an energy ball in the direction of a frantic, but unaware Piper, and all Chris could think about was to get her out of the way.

"Mum!" He yelled as he took a flying leap grabbing her on the shoulders and pushing her to the ground. Unfortunately in doing so, he was hit squarely on the back with the energy ball, and fell heavily with his Mum, rolling a few times before they both stopped, very still.

The others, although still busy fighting the demons, had witnessed what had happened, and Leo called "Piper?" Desperately wanting to know if his wife was all right.

Neither Chris, nor Piper moved.


	8. Chapter Eight

CHAPTER EIGHT

Phoebe got up from where the demon had knocked her, and immediately helped Paige vanquish the demon she was fighting. Paige then used her orbing telekinesis to vanquish the demon Leo was fighting, and at the same time Wyatt managed to rid himself of his demon as well.

The four weary fighters looked around making sure that no more demons had appeared, and then urgently ran to Piper and Chris.

Wyatt quickly checked Chris, who was lying on his back unconscious, and was very relieved to find he was still alive. Leo gently turned Piper over, who had been lying on her stomach, and immediately noticed a very bad cut and bruise on her forehead.

"Is Chris okay?" Leo asked Wyatt.

"He's alive, I can't see any injuries as yet." Wyatt replied as he quickly checked Chris over.

"There's blood underneath him." Paige observed, pointing to some blood seeping on the floor from his back.

"Piper seems to have a pretty bad head wound." Leo said as he too was checking her over.

Wyatt gently turned Chris over.

"Oh my God!" Phoebe exclaimed when she saw the wound on his back.

Before anyone had a chance to react, Chris suddenly started to cough, and was struggling to breathe as he became conscious.

"Moving him must have woken him." Wyatt said. He then spoke gently to Chris, "It's okay, Chris, you're going to be fine."

"Wyatt, is Mum okay?" Chris asked in a forced whisper, in between coughs.

"She's fine Chris, you saved her. She's fine." Leo said to him, and then said more quietly to Wyatt. "Can you heal them?"

"I don't know, I haven't healed anyone since Zankou took over, I don't know if I remember how."

"That's your new future, what about your old future, you must have been able to heal then?" Leo questioned him, hoping for a positive response.

Wyatt said nothing.

"Wyatt?" Phoebe asked. "Your brother needs you to remember." She looked down and noticed Chris was unconscious again. "Quickly." She added.

Wyatt looked down at Chris, "Don't you think I know that?" He snapped at her. "I'm trying to remember, but there's just so much going on in my head at the moment."

"And the pressure wouldn't be helping." Leo said, looking at Phoebe. "Just take deep breathes and calm down, Wyatt. Work through your memories and it'll come to you."

Wyatt did as he was told and closed his eyes taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. They all watched, as he seemed to be in deep concentration. Then, without opening his eyes he put his hands out over Chris' back and they started to glow.

Everyone remained silent, allowing Wyatt the time he needed to heal Chris. Finally after a couple of minutes the wound started healing. It took a lot longer than it used to with Leo, but eventually the whole wound disappeared.

Chris slowly opened his eyes, as Wyatt immediately moved over to his Mother and went through the same process on her.

Chris tried to sit up with Paige's help, and was about to speak when he saw Wyatt with his eyes closed healing his Mother.

Finally her wound disappeared also, and Piper slowly opened her eyes.

"Wyatt?" Piper said. "You healed me?" She asked.

Instead of answering, Wyatt fell back exhausted. Leo caught him, "Hey, watch it buddy, just take it easy for a few minutes. What you just did would have taken a lot out of you."

"You're not wrong!" Wyatt replied.

"You healed both of us Wyatt." Chris said. "I had no idea you knew how to do that."

"Neither did I, really." Wyatt replied.

"I taught him when he was a child in the other future Chris, but for a while there we didn't know if he remembered how to do it." Leo explained. "And you're going to feel exhausted for a while now. You are not a true Whitelighter, so healing is not something that comes easily to you, and requires great power. You're only half Whitelighter by birth, so it takes a lot of energy for you to do what you just did."

"Thank you Wyatt." Piper said, and then suddenly she remembered Baby Wyatt, "Has anyone checked the boys?"

"No, I'll go now, you just take it easy." Leo said as he got up to leave the room.

"I'll go to," Phoebe said as she stood up as well.

"Be careful of the crystal force field I put around them." Piper called out as they both left the room.

"Crystal force field? Why did you do that?" Paige asked Piper.

"Phoebe's not the only one who can sense danger." Piper replied. "I just had a feeling tonight that Zankou was going to do something like this."

"We've really got to do something about him." Paige insisted.

"Yes we do." Piper said, but her thoughts were not the same as Paige's. "In the meantime, I think we should all go downstairs, plan what we're going to do tomorrow, and then go to bed." Piper then looked at Chris. "And thank you, Chris, for saving my life. It wouldn't have been much of a murder investigation if I had already died tonight."

"No problem, Mum. But what you just said is interesting. I wonder who saved you from dying the first time?" Chris pondered.

"Don't even go there, Chris." Piper said as she stood up.

Chris, Wyatt and Paige, also all stood up.

"Everyone okay?" Paige asked.

Piper and Chris nodded, but Wyatt seemed a little unsteady.

"Wyatt?" Paige enquired.

"I'll be fine. Dad was right about it taking a lot out of me, I feel completely exhausted!" Wyatt told them.

"How about I just orb us all downstairs?" Paige suggested, as she touched Piper and Wyatt on the shoulder.

"I'm fine to orb myself, I'll see you down there." Chris said, as they all disappeared in a cloud of white orbs.


	9. Chapter Nine

**SAME SPOILER WARNING AS PREVIOUS CHAPTERS**

CHAPTER NINE

Big Wyatt and Big Chris were sound asleep on two daybeds in the attic when suddenly the sound of explosions coming from downstairs woke them. Both jumped up simultaneously, and, still half asleep, headed toward the attic door.

The two brothers, dressed only in their boxer shorts and a t-shirt, were immediately confronted by the backs of several demons throwing all sorts of different demonic weapons toward Piper, Leo, Phoebe and Paige. The four of them were ducking in and out of their bedrooms trying to fight back when it was safe to do so. Baby Chris and Baby Wyatt could be heard crying in the background, obviously because of all the commotion.

Big Wyatt and Big Chris quickly moved back onto the stairs, out of sight, to decide their best plan of attack. The two boys, who were so similar in so many ways, had exactly the same idea as to what to do. They moved out behind the demons and called out "Stay back," to their family as they both used their telekinetic powers together in one sweeping motion. The group of demons didn't have any time to register what was happening before they were all flung at high speed down the corridor and into the opposite wall, vanquishing them all instantly.

Cautiously four heads appeared from the rooms they had taken shelter in, checking to see if it was all right to come out.

"Wow, you guys are handy to have around." Phoebe said, gratefully.

"I'm just glad we can help," Wyatt answered her.

Piper and Leo, without delay, went straight into the younger boys' bedroom to console them.

As Piper stood in the room comforting Baby Chris, and Leo held onto Baby Wyatt, they turned to see their grown up sons standing in the doorway, also checking that everything was fine with the younger versions of themselves.

"You'd think I'd be used to this by now," Piper stated. "But I still find it surreal to have both the younger and older versions of our sons here at the same time."

"I know what you mean." Leo agreed.

"You think it's weird?" Chris questioned. "Just don't ever change his diaper around me, okay!"

They all laughed at Chris' comment.

"That would be weird," Paige agreed, as she walked into the bedroom with Phoebe. "I remember the other Chris freaking out at us when we were just looking at his sonogram."

Big Chris started to look very embarrassed, and to make matters worse, everyone in the room seemed to be enjoying his embarrassment.

"As much as I could talk about me as a baby all day, really, can we move on now and start talking about why all these demons are attacking all of a sudden?" He requested, hoping he could forget the conversation that had just taken place.

"As we said last night," Phoebe answered him, "We think it's Zankou. He's trying to organise the Underworld, become the new Source, and he's trying to wear us down in the process."

"So our best guess is that it was Zankou who killed you." Wyatt commented.

"Either him directly, or one of these attacks he's organising." Leo said.

"None of that really helps us prevent it, though," Chris said, sounding frustrated.

"We've still got time Chris, we'll work it out." Wyatt reassured him.

"I think we should all head to Magic School for a while to give us all a break. He can't reach us there." Leo recommended.

"I've got to go and meet a charge, I'll meet you there." Paige told them, and then she turned to leave the room to get ready.

"Just be careful, Paige, and look out for traps." Piper warned her.

Paige turned back to Piper, nodded and then left.

"What about you Phoebe, do you have to go to the paper, or on a date or something?" Piper asked her.

"Nope. Column's done. No romantic interests at the moment. I'll get ready and come to Magic School with you and we'll work on all of this." She said as she also left the room.

"That was easy." Piper said, warily.

"We'll go and get dressed," Wyatt said as he turned to leave the room with Chris.

"Do you need us to conjure you some clothes?" Piper asked.

"No, we brought some clothes with us in the backpacks we were carrying – we're fine." Chris answered her.

When it was just Piper and Leo left, with the two younger boys, Leo looked at Piper and asked her gently, "Are you okay?"

She looked up at him, and felt a wave of emotion come over her. "No, not really, but we don't have time to worry about that now. I'll have a nervous breakdown after we've saved our lives." She turned and put Chris back in his cot. "I'll get ready, can you get the boys ready for me?"

"Of course I can, but Piper, please if you want to talk about it – I'm here." Leo offered her.

Piper stopped as she was walking out the room and turned to face Leo. "I know you are, thank you, but there's really nothing to talk about. It's just all getting on top of me at the moment, but I'll be fine, really." She said, trying to sound convincing.

But Leo was not convinced. "I want to help you, Piper, like you helped me. I want to be there for you, please don't shut me out."

Piper could feel the tears she was trying to hold back starting to fill her eyes. She managed a smile at Leo before walking out to her bedroom. She entered the room and closed the door behind her. With her back against the door, she slid down until she was sitting on the floor, with her knees up to her chest. She folded her arms over her knees and buried her head in her arms, and let the tears out that she had been holding. After a few minutes of unrelenting crying, Piper wondered what she was doing. She was always the one to hold it together and she didn't understand why she just wanted to cry all the time. She was trying to think logically as to what could be causing this to be happening, but found her brain seemed fuzzy almost, and it was difficult to think clearly. Zankou's endless demon attacks, her grown up sons from the future, as well as their baby versions, the news about them dying, the zombie thing, seeing Wyatt evil, and finally Zankou's proposal. It was just all too much. She just wanted to curl up on the floor of her bedroom and never leave.

"Piper," Leo called her from the other side of the door.

Piper took a deep breath and then answered in the strongest voice she could muster, "Yes."

"The boys are ready, big and small, and so is Phoebe. We'll see you downstairs okay?"

"I won't be long." She replied as she tried to wipe the tears away.

With all her inner strength, Piper made herself get up and go to the bathroom. She kept telling herself "You're okay, you're okay." And then she looked in the mirror and sighed. "Okay, you're not okay!" She exclaimed. She washed her face with cold water, but still looked like an absolute wreck. Then she had a thought. "Personal gain, be damned!" She said as she quietly said a spell to herself and waved her hand in front of her face. She looked in the mirror again and saw a happy, refreshed Piper looking back at her. "You've fixed the outside, now all you've got to do is fix the inside," she said as she turned to get ready to go to Magic School.


	10. Chapter Ten

CHAPTER TEN

"The boys are in the nursery, happily playing." Leo said to Piper as he walked over to the table she and Phoebe were sitting at in The Great Hall of Magic School.

Wyatt was standing next to the table, and Chris was pacing.

"Okay, where do we start?" Chris asked.

Before anyone could answer, Paige orbed in with two other people.

"Hi guys," she said, "Sorry I'm late. This is Katelyn and her Father, Michael. This is my brother-in-law, Leo, who is the Principal of Magic School."

"Nice to meet you." Leo said to Michael while shaking his hand.

Michael nodded in response.

"And of course, this is the rest of my family." Paige introduced, as everyone said "hi".

"Katelyn is one of my charges, and I just wanted to show her around Magic School," she explained.

"I didn't even know a place like this existed." Michael told them all, as he looked around, amazed.

"Neither did we until about eighteen months ago." Piper informed him.

"I'll get one of the teacher's to show you around," Leo said, ignoring Piper's comment which he felt was targeted at him for not telling them about the school.

"Come with me."

"Just come back here when you're finished," Paige called to them as they followed Leo down the corridor.

"He seems vaguely familiar," Wyatt said quietly as he tried to remember where he'd seen Michael before.

"Familiar how?" Phoebe asked. "Good familiar or bad familiar?"

"No, it's definitely not bad. I don't know it's probably nothing – just can't trust my memories at the moment." Wyatt replied.

"Well I don't remember ever seeing them before." Chris told them

"Michael's a really nice guy." Paige said, defending him. "He's mortal and he married a witch, so Katelyn is only half witch."

"Where's his wife?" Piper asked.

"She died a couple of years ago." Paige replied.

"Demon attack?" Phoebe guessed.

"No, a car accident." Paige replied. "He really wants to do the right thing for Katelyn, that's why they're here."

"Did I miss anything?" Leo asked as he returned to join the family meeting.

"No, Paige was just telling us about her charge." Piper replied.

"They both seem very nice." Leo commented before getting back to business. "Okay then, as Chris said before, where do we start?"

"Well, I think if we all agree that the person behind our deaths is Zankou, then we need to get to him first." Phoebe suggested.

"That makes sense." Leo agreed.

"Maybe that's what we thought the first time, and that's how we got killed?" Piper guessed.

"No," Wyatt answered her. "Dad would have definitely mentioned that to us. Your deaths were a complete surprise to him. It wasn't like you were heading out to a great demonic battle or anything. He just arrived home with us, and found you all in the Manor."

"Arrived home from where?" Leo asked.

"I think it was Grandpa's house." Chris answered.

"Yes it was." Wyatt confirmed.

"Dad's house?" Piper repeated, surprised. "Why would you have been at Dad's house?"

"It had something to do with Phoebe having a premonition about a fire at Magic School, so we'd been staying at Grandpa's." Chris told them.

"I had a premonition?" Phoebe asked excitedly. "I haven't had one of those in ages."

"Anyway, as it turned out, there was a fire at Magic School, and that must have affected its' protection spell, because after you were murdered a lot of Elders were killed there by Zankou and his demons." Wyatt explained.

"Zankou then took over Magic School and that was the beginning of him not only ruling the Underworld, but the whole magical community." Chris added.

"None of this is really helping us to find out what happened to the girls, though." Leo said.

"Which brings us back to attacking Zankou, before any of this is supposed to happen." Paige stated.

"Maybe we should consider other options?" Piper suggested.

"Like what?" Leo asked.

"Like maybe, I don't know, trying to come to some agreement with Zankou?" Piper told them.

"You can't make deals with demons, Piper. That's why they're demons." Leo answered her.

"I know that, but I'm just saying that maybe he'd be happy just ruling the Underworld and leaving us alone."

Everyone just looked at her not knowing what to say.

"Okay, I know that sounds unlikely. I'm really just thinking out loud here, trying to think of all options." She justified.

"In an ideal world, Piper, I would agree with you. But unfortunately, I just can't see Zankou stopping with the Underworld." Phoebe told her.

"No way would he stop with the Underworld." Chris added, very adamant. "And believe me I have first hand knowledge of what he will become."

"I agree." Wyatt said.

"But attacking him will be almost impossible because his precognitive power allows him to know what we're going to do before we do it." Paige said, frustrated.

"That's right. Any plan we come up with, Zankou will already know about." Piper agreed.

"We still have to try. What choices to we have?" Phoebe asked.

Everyone looked at each other.

No one had an answer.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**SAME SPOILER WARNING AS PREVIOUS CHAPTERS**

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The girls orbed into the Underworld where the crystal had shown them Zankou would be. Instead they found a note saying, "Sorry I missed you, and WATCH OUT." Paige immediately orbed them all back to Magic School as several demons appeared, throwing energy balls in their direction. Fortunately they all flew harmlessly through the disappearing orbs and into the wall behind.

"This is ridiculous!" Piper cursed. "How long are we supposed to keep this up?"

"No luck?" Chris asked as he, Wyatt and Leo all walked toward them.

"No, he'd already gone. Again!" Paige sighed.

"It's been over a week now! Him attacking us. Us always missing him. We really are getting nowhere." Phoebe said as she leant against the wall, exhausted.

Suddenly she gasped.

Everyone knew what was happening.

"What did you see?" Leo asked her.

Phoebe looked around sadly. "Magic School. On fire." She said, despondently.

"Then nothing's changed. We have managed to change absolutely nothing!" Chris exclaimed.

The disappointment on everyone's faces spoke a thousand words.

"Well, I'm definitely not leaving the boys here, and they can't go home to the Manor, it's too dangerous, so…."

"We'll take them to Victor's." Leo said, finishing off Piper's sentence for her.

"It's the only place." Piper added.

"This really isn't looking good," Chris said, sounding very worried. "It's tomorrow people, we've got to stop him before tomorrow. And so far, everything that happened last time, is happening this time!"

"We've still got time." Wyatt said, trying to sound optimistic. "Phoebe, Paige, Chris and I will stay here and keep trying to come up with something while Mum and Dad, you go to grandpa's."

Everyone agreed.

* * *

Later that day after Paige had orbed them there, Leo, holding Baby Wyatt, and Piper, holding Baby Chris, arrived at Victor's apartment.

"It's so good to see you." Victor said as he gave Piper and the boys a kiss.

"Sorry to do this to you, Dad." Piper apologised as she and Leo walked into the sitting room.

"Don't be silly, I'm happy to help. I've got the spare room ready for them. They, and of course you, can stay here as long as you want." He offered.

"It should only be until tomorrow night." Leo answered.

"Either way." Piper added, as she looked at Leo.

"What does that mean?" Victor asked.

"It's complicated Dad, don't worry about it." Piper said, trying to lighten up a little.

Piper walked into the spare room and then suddenly realised. "I completely forgot about a cot for Chris. Wyatt will be fine on the bed, but I'll need to go the Manor and get the travel cot."

"Do you think that's wise?" Leo asked, worried.

"I won't be long, and I'll drive Dad's car, so there's no magic." Piper explained.

"Okay, but I'm coming with you." Leo insisted.

Piper handed Chris to her Dad, as he gave her his car keys, and after saying their goodbyes, they left.

* * *

Leo and Piper cautiously opened the front door to the Manor. Everything seemed fine. Piper disabled the crystal forcefield they put around the house, and then headed upstairs.

"You keep an eye out down here, I won't be long." She said to Leo.

"Fine. Just call if you need anything." He replied as he started to check through the rooms.

Piper entered the boys' bedroom and went straight to a cupboard where she retrieved a packed up travel cot. She grabbed it, and then turned to leave, but walked straight into Zankou.

Taken by surprise, she gasped very loudly. Zankou just smiled at her.

"Everything okay, Piper?" Leo called from the bottom of the stairs.

Zankou put his finger to his lips and made a shhh motion. Piper knew that if Zankou had wanted to kill her, she would be dead by now. She also knew that Leo would not stand a chance against him.

"Everything's fine." She called back.

"It's about time you came back here." Zankou said quietly as he closed the door to the bedroom.

"What do you want?" Piper whispered, trying to sound confident.

"It's time to make a decision. The game we've been playing over the past week has been fun, but all good things must come to an end. What's it to be?"

Piper held his stare for a long few seconds, and then slowly nodded her head.

"Clever girl." Zankou said confidently.

"I don't know if I can persuade my sisters though." Piper told him, honestly.

"Not necessary. I'll persuade them myself," he replied.

"They won't meet with you."

"Then we won't tell them, will we? Oh, and it's good to see you're feeling better, I don't like it when you're upset."

"Why? Because you can't read me as well?" She challenged him.

"We should meet tomorrow to get this deal done. Somewhere neutral, maybe Golden Gate Park?" He suggested, ignoring Piper's comment.

Piper immediately remembered her grown up sons telling her that they had been killed somewhere else, and then moved to the Manor.

"No," She replied. "We meet at Magic School, or not at all."

"You still don't trust me?" Zankou asked, "Now, that hurts."

"I will never trust you, but I can see that what you are offering is our only solution."

"Very well." Zankou told Piper. "To show how important this is to me, I will meet you at your Magic School, but I'll need directions of how to get there."

"I'll summon you, at an agreed time." She told him.

Piper really wasn't sure what she was getting herself into, but could see that she had no choice anymore. Time was running out for her and her sisters, and she needed to take charge again, and try to do something to save them all.

"First of all, you'll have to vanquish me." Zankou told her.

"What?" She asked, completely surprised.

"Remove me as a threat and your sisters will get their first good night's sleep in ages. It will make them more open to my idea."

"And how do we do that?" Piper asked.

"You're just lucky that I'm a good actor." Zankou replied, smiling.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**SAME SPOILER WARNING AS PREVIOUS CHAPTERS**

CHAPTER TWELVE

Piper and Leo returned to Victor's apartment with the cot for Baby Chris. Leo remained completely oblivious to Piper's meeting with Zankou.

After settling the boys down for their afternoon nap, Leo suggested, "Why don't you go and have a rest, Piper. You've hardly had any sleep over the past week."

Piper agreed that it was a good idea, and left Leo and Victor to do some male bonding while she would catch some much needed rest.

About fifteen minutes later, she was lying on top of Victor's bed, completely exhausted, but found that she could not keep her eyes closed because her mind was racing with a million thoughts. She looked around Victor's bedroom, but stopped when some candles caught her eye. Then an idea struck her.

After carefully placing the candles on the floor, Piper lit them and then quietly said the summoning spell. Right on cue, her deceased Mother and Grandmother appeared in front of her.

"Piper?" They both said at once.

"Hi Mum. Hi Grams. I need your advice, and your help." Piper told them, as she started to break down in tears.

* * *

Piper had not even been lying down for an hour when she emerged from Victor's bedroom.

"I know how to vanquish Zankou." She said, excitedly to Leo.

"What? How?" He replied.

"Well, we second guess him for a change. And I know what he wants more than anything."

Piper and Leo arrived back at Magic School soon after contacting Paige to orb them there. Piper began explaining her plan to her family. All were listening intently.

"He always knows what we are going to do next. It's time to turn the tables on our would be assassin. How about we set him up, so we know what he'll be doing next?"

"How do we do that?" Phoebe asked.

"I know what he really wants. Something that will give him the ultimate power."

"The Nexus." Paige said.

"That's right." Piper said enthusiastically. "I bet if we take down the alarm system at the Manor, then he will try to go after the Nexus again. But we'll be ready this time and then vanquish him."

"Sounds dangerous." Leo warned.

"Of course it will be dangerous, but when is it ever not dangerous?" Piper asked incredulously.

"This does seem like our best chance." Paige commented.

"And we are running out of time." Phoebe added.

"Wyatt and I will come with you, as back up, just to make sure." Chris insisted.

"No Chris," Piper said, firmly. "I don't want to risk you two as well. Besides, you and Wyatt can take down all the crystals around the house, while we hide in the attic."

"But, Mum," Chris started to protest.

"No buts, Chris. This is how it's going to be. We'll call you if we need you."

Wyatt and Chris reluctantly agreed, and so the plan was set.

An hour later Wyatt and Chris orbed to the house and started to take down the crystals. At the same time, the sisters orbed into the basement and quietly hid, and waited.

It only took a few minutes for Zankou to flame in, with a selection of demons around him. Carefully he looked around, and satisfied that he was safe he put his hands out in front of him and started chanting to himself.

The girls had to wait for the exact moment, when Zankou was deep in concentration with his chanting.

They watched as the ground started to open before him.

Quickly they ran toward him. The demons surrounding him immediately started to attack, but the girls made short work of them with potions, and their magical powers.

Zankou, who was still frozen in place, waiting for the Nexus to appear, did not even fight back as Piper threw several vials of potion at his feet. Instantly, he started to scream in agony as flames surrounded him, and then he disappeared.

The girls stood there for a few seconds, waiting for something else to happen.

The only thing that did, was the ground closed up again in front of them.

"That was easy." Phoebe said, cautiously still looking around the room.

"Did that seem too easy?" Paige asked Piper.

"Yes, it did. But let's not look a gift dead demon in the mouth." She said as she walked over and inspected a pile of ashes on the floor where Zankou had just been standing.

She looked at them and then looked around the room. "Let's get back to Magic School." She said. "We'll stay there tonight, and then if everything seems okay, we'll come back here tomorrow night. After we were supposed to be killed."

Paige silently walked over and held onto her sisters' hands and orbed them back to Magic School.

They materialised in the Great Hall to be met by a very nervous Leo, Wyatt and Chris.

"Oh, thank God!" Leo said as he saw them all arrive safely.

"And?" Chris asked.

"It worked." Paige said.

"It worked?" Wyatt repeated. "You don't sound too excited."

"Well, it just seemed a little too easy, that's all." Phoebe explained.

"Easy, how?" Leo asked.

"I don't know exactly." Phoebe answered.

"Did he go up in flames screaming in agony?" Chris asked.

"Well, yes." Paige conceded.

"Sounds like a vanquish to me." Chris said, relieved.

"Piper said we should stay here tonight, just in case." Phoebe said.

"Actually, we can't." Leo told them. "I've arranged for the school to be evacuated because of Phoebe's vision."

"Why don't we all stay at Grandpa's?" Chris suggested. "It'd be great to catch up with him while we're here."

"Do you think you're Dad would mind?" Leo asked Piper, but Piper didn't answer, as she seemed to be deep in thought. "Piper?" Leo asked again.

"Sorry," she said coming back to reality. "It'll be a tight squeeze, but I'm sure we'll be fine for one night." She finally said.

Leo walked over to her and asked more quietly, "Are you okay?"

She smiled at him, "I'm fine, really. Why wouldn't I be after what we just did? I'm just tired, that's all."

Leo wasn't too sure he believed her, but accepted her answer.

"Okay, then, let's all go to Victor's apartment." He said.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**SAME SPOILER WARNING AS PREVIOUS CHAPTERS**

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The very large Halliwell family group orbed into Victor's small apartment.

Victor was sitting on the floor playing with Baby Wyatt and Baby Chris, when he was surprised by his visitors.

"Hi. Everything all right?" He asked.

"Everything's great, Daddy." Phoebe said as she ran to give him a kiss and hug.

Piper and Leo went straight over to their precious boys.

"Everything went really well, Dad, but we'd all like to stay here tonight, just to be sure." Piper said as she picked up Baby Chris, after kissing Baby Wyatt.

"Of, course, no problem, we'll just have to work out where everyone's going to sleep." He said.

"We're happy to sleep on the floor." Chris said to him.

"Chris!" Victor said, only just noticing he was there. "You're back."

"Not the same Chris, Dad." Piper told him.

"Hi Grandpa," Chris said as he walked over to give him a hug. "I'm him grown up." He said pointing to Baby Chris.

"Oh, okay." Victor said as if he was supposed to accept this as normal.

"And I'm Baby Wyatt grown up." Wyatt said as he too walked over to hug his Grandfather.

"Of course you are." Victor said shaking his head.

"We didn't see each other last time I was here." Wyatt told him.

"You've been here from the future before as well?" Victor asked.

"Yes, a couple of weeks ago." Wyatt answered him.

"But I haven't Grandpa, that was the other Chris from a different future." Chris said, realising he still wasn't understanding.

"Right." Victor answered, trying to sound like he knew what was going on, but still had no idea.

"I don't know how you girls keep up with all of this." He said shaking his head again.

They all laughed.

"Let's see." Piper said, thinking. "Leo and I can stay in the spare room with the boys."

"No, you take my room." Victor insisted. "Phoebe and Paige can sleep in the spare room, and I'll sleep on the couch out here. I'll put a couple of mattresses on the floor for the older boys."

"Are you sure?" Piper checked with him.

"Absolutely!" Victor replied.

With that settled, everyone started to get organised for bed.

Early next morning, everyone started emerging from their respective places of slumber.

"That was the best night's sleep I've had in ages." Phoebe declared as she walked to the kitchen to get some coffee.

"It took me a while to get to sleep. Has anyone ever told you, you snore?" Paige asked her.

Phoebe looked embarrassed. "Well, you know, never mind." She answered. "I think I was just over tired."

"The boys and I were talking for a while." Victor told them all. "It was like camping out, it was great."

"We enjoyed it too, Grandpa." Wyatt said.

Chris nodded in agreement.

"If it's okay with everyone, I'd like Paige, Phoebe and I to orb to Magic School to get some books, just in case there still is a fire." Piper said.

"I should come to." Leo said as he started to get up.

"No, we'll be fine. I'd rather you stay here with the boys. We'll be safe at Magic School." Piper insisted.

"Not that there should be anything to worry about now." Phoebe added.

"Exactly." Piper agreed.

Leo could see that after the pressures of the past couple of weeks, Piper might just be wanting to spend some time alone with her sisters. Thinking it might do her good, he agreed. "You're right. Just call if you need anything." He said.

* * *

Phoebe, Paige and Piper all materialised into the Great Hall of Magic School.

"It seems really creepy when there's no one around." Phoebe noticed as she looked at the empty halls around her.

"Where do you want us to start?" Paige asked Piper.

"Actually, that's not why I brought you here." Piper said, getting straight to the point.

"What do you mean?" Paige asked her.

"You may have noticed that lately I've been feeling a little depressed." Piper started to explain.

"Yes." Phoebe answered. "And you know we're here for you, always."

"Yes I know that, and I appreciate it, but I'm just tired of all the fighting." Piper said, sighing.

"We all are, and hopefully now that Zankou is gone, that will ease for a while." Paige said.

"Well that's just the thing. Zankou isn't really gone."

"What?" Phoebe and Paige exclaimed together.

"It was just easier for you to think he's gone. Easier to get us here alone."

"Piper, I don't understand, what are you trying to say." Phoebe asked, starting to look very worried at where this was leading.

"I've made a deal with him, and I want you both to make the same deal." She told them.

"Are you serious?" Paige asked her, disbelievingly.

"Completely." Piper replied. "I'm supposed to summon him here to discuss it."

"So we didn't really vanquish him?" Phoebe asked.

Piper shook her head.

"I thought it appeared too easy." Paige told them.

"Come on, it can't hurt to listen to him. After what Big Chris and Big Wyatt told me, this seemed to be the only solution. If we keep going on like we have been over the past couple of weeks, our luck will run out. Obviously in their future, our luck ran out today." Piper pleaded with them.

"Well, I suppose we are safe here." Paige said, starting to see Piper's point of view.

Phoebe thought about it, and then looking at how much Piper wanted this, she finally agreed. "Okay, but at the first sign of trouble Paige is to orb us the hell out of here."

"Agreed." Piper said.

Piper retrieved a piece of paper out of her pocket and started reading the summoning spell. Seconds later Zankou appeared in front of them.

"Greetings, ladies. So pleased you could make it." He said smugly.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**SAME SPOILER WARNING AS PREVIOUS CHAPTERS**

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The girls had no sooner orbed out of Victor's apartment when Grams and Patty materialised in front of all the male members of the family.

"Oh my God, what are you doing here?" Victor exclaimed, not used to seeing ghosts in his apartment.

"Nice to see you too, Victor." Grams shot back at him.

"What **are** you doing here?" Leo asked, repeating Victor's question.

"There's not much time. Piper has had us doing a bit of investigating for her." Patty started to explain.

"What do you mean? Why has she had you helping her?" Chris asked recognising them both immediately from photos.

"Hello Chris, Wyatt." Patty said to them. "I'd love to spend time getting to know you, but I'm sorry this is very urgent."

"Piper realised that Zankou's precognitive powers did not extend to ghosts. There is no way for him to second guess what we've been doing." Grams explained answering Chris' question.

"But Zankou has been vanquished." Wyatt told them.

"No. He hasn't." Patty said. "Look, you don't have to understand this, you just have to do what we tell you."

"Piper has taken her sisters to Magic School because she is planning to make a deal with Zankou. His vanquish was just a ruse to make you all let your guard down, and her sisters more open to the idea of a truce." Grams continued.

"A truce? That's ludicrous!" Leo exclaimed.

"Piper knows that. She's been feeling a little depressed lately, and she noticed that Zankou couldn't read her as well while she was feeling this way. So she contacted us, crying her little heart out, god bless her soul, and told us what she wanted us to do." Patty helped to explain.

Grams continued, "We've found out two things from the Underworld. When Wyatt was here last time, Zankou was able to tap into his mind and find out that Piper's greatest desire was for a normal life. He has been using that as bait to form this truce, but of course he intends to kill them. The other thing he found out was the secret of the magical protection spell at Magic School. Wyatt must have known its secret in the future."

"I don't remember any of that." Wyatt told them all.

"So Zankou is now able to break the spell, and intends to kill them at Magic School." Chris worked out.

"Yes, but that's where you come in. We've got crystals for a force field, and vials with a potion. This is a similar potion that was used to imprison him by the Source, only this one will kill him, with the help of The Power of Three." Patty said as she handed Leo, Chris and Wyatt each a vial.

"You have been busy." Leo told them. "And Piper kept all this to herself."

"Yes, she had to. If she'd spoken about it to anyone Zankou would have been able to sense it. She also had to make sure she stayed pretty damned depressed while working this all out. Anyway, timing is of the essence. You have to arrive when Zankou is least expecting it which is when he thinks he's won, and his defences will be at their lowest." Grams explained.

"Now go and save our girls." Patty said to all of them.

Chris, Wyatt and Leo all grabbed a vial and crystal each. Chris put his hand on his Dad's shoulder and they both orbed out, closely followed by Wyatt.

* * *

"You've got three minutes." Phoebe said coldly to Zankou. "Start talking."

"Well I'm sure Piper has explained why we're meeting. Well, I'm afraid you can forget all about that." He said, as demons appeared all around.

"Paige, quickly orb…." But Piper did not get a chance to finish her sentence as Zankou threw a potion at their feet and the girls collapsed to the ground.

Zankou walked up to the sisters who were now lying paralysed on the floor. They looked up at him in terror, unable to move.

"Don't worry, it's just a little paralysing potion, it will wear off in a few minutes. Unfortunately you'll be dead by then. Yes, sorry to tell you that you are not protected here at Magic School anymore. And I have you to thank for that Piper." Zankou told them arrogantly.

Piper looked up at him, and hoped her plan was still going to work. She hadn't known for sure about him killing them at Magic School, but she had guessed it. That's why he had wanted it to remain a secret that they had died there in the new future. He was then able to kill the Elders, as they would have no idea the defences had been breached.

"When you summoned Wyatt from the future, I was able to tap into his thoughts while he was evil and find out about your desire for a normal life, and you've been falling into my trap perfectly. But, I was also able to find out the secret to this place. And that is going to be very handy."

"After I've killed them, we'll move them back to the Manor, so no one will suspect that I have been able to break the protection spell here. Zankou announced to his demon followers all around him.

"Sorry, but I see no reason to delay the proceedings any longer." Zankou said looking back down at Piper as he formed an energy ball in his hand.

As he lifted his hand to strike, suddenly Chris, Wyatt and Leo orbed in, and in one movement the three threw the magical vials they were holding at his feet and then immediately placed the crystals around him.

Zankou let go of the energy ball, which hit the side of the crystal forcefield, exploding harmlessly. He then started screaming as millions of tiny little insects came flying out of the shattered vials and began flying all around him and then, to his horror, through him. Desperately he tried to brush them away with his hands, but it was to no avail. He didn't stand a chance.

The demons standing around were so surprised to see their mighty leader be trapped in this way, that they just stood there, doing nothing.

"Who's next?" Wyatt asked to them all. They all realised that with Zankou being defeated in front of them, they would stand no chance, and so they all disappeared as quickly as their demonic magic would take them.

Leo ran to Piper, Wyatt to Paige, and Chris to Phoebe. They helped the girls, who were now starting to be able to move again, to a sitting position.

"We need the Power of Three Spell to finish him off." Leo told them.

"Just one thing, Zankou." Piper said as strongly as she could. "A witch is **who** I am, and always will be."

Then the three girls said together, "The Power of Three will set us free. The Power of Three will set us free." They watched as the millions of tiny insects kept swirling around him, eating more and more of his flesh, quickly devouring him until there was nothing left, and then they, too, disappeared.

"Now that's what I call a vanquish!" Chris exclaimed.

The sisters, now almost completely recovered, were carefully helped to their feet by the boys.

"What the hell just happened?" Phoebe asked.

"It's a very long story, but it was all Piper's doing. Zankou, through Piper, had been trying to lure you all into a trap, but needless to say, she outsmarted him." Leo told them.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Paige asked.

"Because Zankou would have been able to sense it. I'm sorry, but I had no choice. I'm just glad it's all worked out." She said, very relieved. "Oh, and I had some help from Grams and Mum because there was no way Zankou could sense them."

"Very smart." Paige complimented.

"Yes, it was." Grams said as she and Patty walked toward them.

"Thank you Grams, and thank you both for helping me." Piper said gratefully to them.

"Now that everybody is here, there is something I would like to say." Piper said looking around at her family looking back at her. "As you all know, I've been feeling a little down lately." Piper started to explain.

"But that was all part of the plan because Zankou had trouble sensing you when you were like that." Leo said to her.

"That was at the end. To begin with the feelings were real. But I just want to say that this whole thing has taught me a huge lesson. For years I've been searching for a normal life. It was all I could think about, and the belief that it would one day happen was sometimes the only thing that got me through the day. Well, how ironic was it that that desire is what nearly killed us all, and probably did kill us in Chris and Wyatt's future. I've come to realise that this is normal for us. We are witches. That's what we were born to be, and this life that we lead is normal for our destiny, and I've finally come to not only accept that, but embrace it."

"Well said, Piper." Phoebe said, as she walked up to hug her.

"I second that." Paige said, as she too walked up to Piper and the three sisters hugged, and felt more of a bond between them than they had for a long time.

Grams and Patty looked on proudly.

"I think it's time," Patty said to Grams.

"I think you're right." Grams replied.


	15. Final Chapter Fifteen

**SAME SPOILER WARNING AS PREVIOUS CHAPTERS**

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Later that night, everyone was back at the Manor saying their goodbyes to Big Chris and Big Wyatt. Grams and Patty had already farewelled the boys because they had something to organise and would be back later.

"Are you sure you won't stay a little longer?" Piper asked.

"No Mum, we've got our lives to get back to, and so do you." Wyatt said. She gave him a long hug.

"Just remember, if you get back to the future and it's not right, then use the potions you have to come back, okay." Piper said to Chris as she also gave him a long hug.

"Okay, Mum. It's been really great to see you, and getting to know you. I love you." Chris said tenderly.

Piper finally let go of Chris and then let them both move onto Leo, having already said their goodbyes to Phoebe and Paige.

"We cannot thank you enough for coming here and saving our lives. We owe you everything." Piper said to both of them.

The boys threw the potion at the wall, and within seconds they were walking through, and back to their better future.

"Well, I suppose that's that." Paige said, as she turned to leave the attic.

Just then the front doorbell rang.

"That'll be Daryl, he called to say he was coming over for some reason." Phoebe said.

They all started to follow Paige down the stairs. Piper, though, stood in the attic by herself for a few moments looking at the attic wall, thinking about what Big Chris and Big Wyatt would be doing, and hoping that everything was okay. She sighed and then turned to follow the others, but stopped when she heard the portal open up again.

"Oh no!" She exclaimed. "Not again!"

But instead of a person coming through, something was thrown through instead. The portal closed behind it.

She ran to pick it up. It was an envelope that had been wrapped around a rock. She looked at the envelope and noticed it was marked "MUM".

She opened it and found a photo. She looked at the photo and realised it was a family photo from the future. Chris was sitting in front of a birthday cake with a big 21 on it. He had his arm around a girl sitting next him, and she was not Bianca. Behind him were her and Leo, and next to them was Wyatt and another girl, whom he also had his arm around. Next to Wyatt was Paige with Brody and two young people she didn't recognise. She wondered if they were Paige's children. On the other side was Phoebe and Michael, the father of Paige's charge, Katelyn.

"Wow, that's why Wyatt must have thought he looked familiar." Piper said to herself. Katelyn was also there with another person Piper didn't recognise, but guessed that she must have been Phoebe's daughter. Piper couldn't help but notice that everyone in the photo seemed very happy. She looked on the back of the photo, and saw there was a message.

_"I knew that Michael looked familiar! Just thought you might like a glimpse of the future. Everything's great. Love Wyatt and Chris XXXX"_

Piper had tears in her eyes, as she carefully put the photo back in the envelope and put it safely in her pocket. She then turned to head downstairs.

She arrived to see everyone talking in the front hall near the door. She took Baby Chris from Phoebe, who was holding him. Leo was holding Baby Wyatt.

"Daryl's just come to say goodbye." Phoebe told her.

"Goodbye? What do you mean?" Piper asked.

"I'm sorry, you know how much you girls mean to me." Darryl said to Piper. "But, I just can't do this anymore. Sheridan is all over me, and she's talking about Homeland Security again. She just won't leave you alone, and so, I've asked for a transfer."

"Oh, Daryl, you can't do that, your whole family is here." Piper said to him.

"I know, but everyone in my immediate family is suffering because of this. I'm just so stressed all the time I can't do it anymore. I'm taking leave from tomorrow, so I've just come to say goodbye."

The girls reluctantly said their goodbyes, and walked out the front of the Manor and watched as Darryl drove away.

They turned to walk back in the house, but were confronted by Sandra, the only Elder they had been communicating with in recent times.

"Hello everyone." Sandra said to them. "I can see that you're all having a bit of family time so I'll get to the point. I know we're not very popular with you at the moment, but the other Elders and I would like to show our appreciation for vanquishing Zankou. We would like to offer you something special, within reason of course."

"What do you mean?" Phoebe asked.

"Is there something that we could do for you as sort of a peace offering? As a thank you for everything you've done and continue to do for the magical community. For instance give Leo his powers back?"

"Actually I'm happy the way I am." Leo said before anyone could agree to her offer.

Piper looked back at the road where they had just said goodbye to Darryl and then turned back to Sandra. "There is something I would like to suggest." Piper said as everyone looked at her. "Darryl has been affected badly by our magical lives, and he shouldn't be the one suffering for our mistakes. I would like you to get the Cleaners to erase us from his and Sheridan's memory and erase us from all the police investigations. In fact I would like you to erase all knowledge of magic from Darryl's and Sheila's memory."

"That's a great idea." Phoebe agreed.

"That's what I want too." Paige said.

"Convincing the Cleaners to do that, may not be that easy." Sandra warned them.

"You know you can do it. Just say yes." Piper said to her.

Sandra paused, as it appeared she was getting a message from the other Elders. "It is done." She said.

"Already?" Piper asked.

"The cleaners are very efficient." Sandra said. "Thank you all once again." She then orbed out.

Leo, who was closest to the front door, walked inside, followed by Paige and Phoebe. Piper was still outside holding Chris when she heard Grams call out from the Sitting Room, "Come here girls, I have a surprise for you."

The next thing she heard was Phoebe exclaim, "Oh my God! Prue!"

Piper could not believe what she was hearing and immediately rushed inside to see her deceased sister. She was so excited that she forgot to close the door behind her.

After she walked inside, Baby Chris, who was peering over her shoulder, saw that the front door had been left open. Nobody noticed as the Baby version of the very pretty Big Chris, lifted up his cute little hand, and with his telekinetic power, made the door close in one easy motion.

Happy family sounds could be heard from the Halliwell household that night, as each of the girls were finally ready to be reunited with Prue and begin a whole new chapter in their lives.

Phoebe finally learning to open her heart and love again.

Paige realising her social worker skills had helped her find her true calling in life as not only a Charmed One, but also a Whitelighter.

And Piper finally understanding that the normal life she had been wanting for the past seven years had been with her all along. A magical life as a witch, with her devoted husband Leo, and her two very special sons.

THE END

_I hope you have enjoyed readingmy idea for this series last episode. It has only taken me a few days to write the whole story, because I am an impatient writer who wants to get it all down on paper before I forget it. As a result, I tend to not be too descriptive, and I also run out of ways to say "she said". I did not intend to write another story after my last one, but when I got this idea I couldn't rest until it was done. I also__ just wanted to show how easy it would have been to write Big Chris and Big Wyatt intothe finalepisode, without taking the focus off the sisters. I hope Iacheived that._

_Thank you to everyone who has been taking the time to write a review, I very much enjoy reading them and appreciate you doing them._


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